An interesting script and missions can't save this miserable morass of repetitious role-playing.

The scuba diving sim isn't a crowded genre but this makes a good effort to dominate it all the same.

A worthy alternative to Braid with its own unique personality and some of the cleverest puzzles around.

It's not the backward step of the PS3 version, but this tactical shooter still lacks real advancement.

There are some clever ideas here, but like a good chestburster they haven't been given time to gestate.

You won't miss Phoenix Wright at all in this winsome, if still unnecessarily frustrating, spin-off.

Beautifully bizarre retro graphics can't hide the rough edges on this real-time action strategy.

It's a better shooter, but the overfamiliar plot and setting makes for a less interesting game overall.

The works of both Dante Alighieri and David Jaffe are defiled in this shallow and puerile actioner.

Sega's new dumbed down sequel isn't a disaster but it requires little skill and proffers little satisfaction.

A very slight improvement on the original but this is still a deeply flawed and unlikeable role-player.

A masterclass in how not to do a retro remake, from the graphics to the controls to the tedious difficulty.

One of the better puzzle downloads on DSi, but still unlikely to hold your interest beyond a few hours.

Don't let the charity aspect fool you - this is an excellent, if shallow, puzzle game in its own right.

It's not much of a sequel but this remains a superior mix of role-player, shooter and survival horror.

A real misstep for Level-5, with tedious battles and an equally uninteresting plot and characters.

Yet another slice of downloadable content that's well below the quality of its parent game.

You'd need a very thick pair of rose-tinted glasses to appreciate this frustrating retro 2D shooter.

A milestone game for BioWare, where character-driven drama proves just as engrossing as the combat.

Still an excellent third person brawler, but not the subversive outsider the original was.

It may not have the depth of Street Fighter IV, but this is just as accessible and fun as its big brother.

Your mileage will vary greatly in this epic-scale shooter that rewards only the most dedicated.

It would've been overlooked as a retail release, but as a download this unique puzzler is a real bargain.

Yet another downloadable Robotron clone, but one with some interesting, if peculiar, ideas.

It's a perfectly competent strategy role-player, but one lacking any real personality or imagination.

There's barely enough time to rail at the missed opportunities in one of the least substantial games ever.

One of the best Tower Defence games of the year, with fast-paced action and deep, addictive strategy.

The old school origins are rather too obvious in this competent but predictable Japanese role-player.

Forget the original home console title, this charming 8-bit throwback is by far the superior game.

360 owners might be less familiar with the original but this is still the most pointless remake ever.

The original was obnoxious and insensitive but this new shooter lacks even that much personality.

Some thought has clearly gone into making this an entertaining game, but sadly not enough money or time.

A fun and fairly original pseudo flight sim that has more depth and imagination than most rivals.

An absolutely terrible version of an enduringly excellent game that has no business being on the Wii.

The fake game hero stars in another fake parody, which hits neither its comedy or gameplay targets.

The offspring of Zelda and God Of War can't hold a candle to its parents but it's good fun nonetheless.

One of the best third person actioners of all time manages to make Dante and Kratos look like amateurs.

A shamefully shoddy port of the 360 version, but still a superbly designed action game underneath.

Making Mad Dog McCree look like Dead Space: Extraction is quite some feat in this awful lightgun game.

Strangely self-defeating downloadable expansion that strips out everything that made the original fun.

Konami play Frankenstein with another old series, but even though the seams are showing the game's still fun.

There's an infectious insanity to the combat and mini-games that almost forgives the many flaws.

Ugly, amateurish and badly made arena-based shooter that relies on a co-op mode nobody will ever play.

The worst Guitar Hero spin-off yet with a half-hearted tribute to a band who barely deserved one anyway.

Shooting tin cans hasn't got any more exciting over the years in this forgettable lightgun game.

One of the Amiga's favourite sons returns but with little of its original personality intact.

The best PixelJunk game yet and an inspired mix of Thrust style exploration and elemental puzzles.

Qix is great but this does almost nothing to improve it or make it more palatable for modern audiences.

A poor swansong for Pandemic, with a few novel ideas spoilt by a host of badly copied gameplay mechanics.

A clever, adult-themed survival horror, but one that still fails to chill spines as it used to.

A largely satisfying ending for what has been a frustratingly uneven season of graphic adventures.

A relative low point in Zelda history but still a hugely addictive and superbly well designed adventure.

This inept WiiWare download won't relieve you of any stress, just £5.60 and the will to live.

The old war vet is clearly past its best, but there's still much for younger conscripts to learn here.

The trailers may make the film look like a live action Halo but the game plays nowhere near as well.

A very half-hearted sort of reboot for the series with flawed new graphics and little real personality.

Superb mix of role-playing, puzzle and strategy action, wrapped up in a very palatable fantasy package.

The least scary, least imaginative Resident Evil returns in a very slightly inferior Wii edition.

Customise a very ordinary platformer into something a bit more personal in this clever DSiWare game.

A shot for shot remake of the original - and therefore one of the most pointless makeovers of the year.

It may pay homage to the best of 8-bit gameplay but this is cleverly originally and instantly addictive.

A shameless clone of role-playing puzzle hybrid Puzzle Quest, but a slick and addictive one all the same.

A vast improvement on the flawed original, with much more variety and a much greater sense of fun.

A fun nostalgia ride for fans but not a patch on the similarly pitched Dead Space: Extraction.

The Guinness Book of Records has but one contender for the least value-for-money video game ever made.

By no means the lazy cash-in you might expect, although neither is it the complete reinvention needed.

An impressive port of the PS3 original that improves some elements, even if it leaves out multiplayer.

A good value compilation of two of the PS2's most technically accomplished action games.

The limitations of the PSP and a wrong-headed emphasis on combat ruin an otherwise promising spin-off.

Not the fast action arcade game you might remember, but a low budget animal-fancying sim for girls.

The movie quiz series goes multiformat and low budget with less features and generally less fun.

It is just more of the same, but however minor the improvement this is still co-op gaming at its best.

An excellent first expansion pack that adds not just new but genuinely different content to the mix.

One of the best of the bit Generations puzzlers returns with its take on the art of traffic directing.

It's not much of a simulation but Codemasters' first F1 game is a slick and hugely entertaining racer.

Gauntlet with Pokemon is at least something different, but it's too repetitive and shallow to really work.

By Nintendo standards this is no classic, but by anyone else's it's a fun and accessible 2D platformer.

The oldest online role-player on the block is definitely showing its age, particularly on the DS.

It's not the originality of the design, but the workmanship, that makes this one of the best FPS ever.

After a solid few years the Dragon Ball games are regressing, particularly in this flawed fighter.

Some effort has gone into this ill-advised port, but it's still a pale shadow of the HD original.

For those that don't remember the original this retro remake will likely prove a little too old school.

It's spot the difference time again, with another sequel that fails to offer any real improvements.

The best and worst of BioWare's excesses combine in this competent but unprogressive RPG.

A not very dynamic comeback for Sony's other platforming duo in this repetitive and flawed adventure.

The combination still makes little sense but if Lego Freddy Mercury doesn't make you smile nothing will.

Yet another current gen disappointment that can't hold a candle to the ever improving FIFA series.

Another poorly constructed portable spin-off that brings us no closer to a real Battlefront III.

The anti-Chinatown Wars shows everything that could have gone wrong trying to make Grand Theft Auto on DS.

It may just be a cynical re-branding of Guitar Hero 5 but if you prefer pop to rock this is still fun.

For a series where graphics are irrelevant concentrating on surface details makes for a below par update.

It pales next to other classic arcade racers, but at least this Need For Speed makes an effort.

The Rabbids' first proper game is a huge improvement on the earlier mini-game collections.

Another disappointing chapter in the increasingly uneven adventures of gaming's mightiest pirate.

Generously-sized expansion, which despite increasingly rough edges has some of the best missions yet.

The PSP's most cheerful game returns with an interesting, if very difficult, new take on the original.

It's Tekken with better graphics, again. And yet it's still hard to dislike a fighter this good.

It has a lot wider appeal than you'd think, but it'll take a sequel for this to become truly heroic.